Events, Workshops And Courses 2008

Toronto Community Garden Network: Meeting and Potluck!

TCGN Winter Greens Festival 2008

Saturday December 13th From 11am to 3pm at 100 Bain Avenue in the Community Centre

Meeting Agenda

First: Ravenna B. will check in with us to discuss our goals and directions that we have set, and want to take.

Next: Rhonda T. will inform us, those involved with community gardening, about what’s happening regarding policy, and then let us community gardeners talk about how we want to present ourselves at the policy event that will happen in February

Then: A discussion about the newly formed Urban Agriculture folks, that have organic farms in or near Toronto

- Business will take 1 1/2 hours

- About the Potluck - TCGN Winter Greens Festival!

- Welcome to every-every-everyone!

-With Season Extension techniques becoming popular we want to make the....

Biggest winter greens salad

And feel free to bring your other favorite Potluck dishes. And talking about dishes, for a greener tomorrow please, we would like to encourage everyone to bring their own dishes and cutlery to eat from... if you can.

About getting to the 100 Bain Co-op:

The community center is the second building west of Logan, on the south side of Sparkhall.

The entrance is reached by walking through the parking lot. See map on: www.treetours.to/bain-coop
Sparkhall is a one-way street coming east off Broadview.

HOLIDAY BAKING WITH JOSHNA

The Stop Community Food Centre is pleased to offer a limited number of holiday baking classes with our very own professional chef Joshna Maharaj.

Take the mess and stress out of holiday baking by gathering a group of your friends, neighbours or co-workers for an afternoon of baking with Joshna.

Just imagine cheerful holiday baking with no mess to clean up, no mad dashes to the grocery store for ingredients, and best of all…no disappointing results! Get your holiday baking done in a fully-equipped, commercial grade kitchen, with a professional chef, listening to holiday music, sipping cider with your friends…all while supporting a great cause.

Classes are limited to 12 people each, and are offered on a first come, first serve basis, so reserve your spot today!

Anagram, Metz, DCT, The Pauls and DJ Wes Allen

All proceeds of the show will benefit the publishing of the Parkdale Potluck, a community cookbook being created to raise awareness and support of the Daily Bread Foodbank.

From the west-end of the city comes a group of foodies and community lovers determined to create a cookbook and raise awareness of the new Daily Bread Foodbank opening in Parkdale next year. To create a cookbook delicious for all senses, money needs to be raised to cover the costs of local publishing. The Parkdale Potluck is a locally grown cookbook that celebrates our home and neighborhoods through food. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go directly to help fund the creation of a the new Daily Bread Food Bank opening in the Parkdale Activity – Recreation Center (PARC).

We are still accepting submissions of homegrown, simple recipes, complete with ingredients and clear instructions. Please please contact Lizzy or Alicia for submission forms and for more information.

The West End Flower Fairies are located at the Emerson exit of the Lansdowne TTC Station, on Emerson Avenue, just north of Bloor Street.

Return to Nepal

What: the World Premiere of Return to Nepal, a film showcasing USC Canada's programs in Humla, Nepal

Where: The Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto

When: Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Who: The film stars musician Bruce Cockburn and USC Executive Director Susan Walsh, and is being shown at Planet in Focus, Toronto's Environmental Film Festival

Why: To learn about and appreciate the beauty, richness, and challenges faced by this remote mountain community, nestled in the Himalayas – and to see how USC Canada is making a difference.

How: Tickets are $10 each for adults, $8 for students or seniors, and $5 for children under twelve. $2 from each ticket goes to USC Canada's development work in Humla. They can be bought by calling 416-531-4689 after October 1st.

For more information, call Kate at 1-800-565-6872x228

posted September 15, 2008

Farmers Growing Farmers

Interested in starting a farming based business? A small market garden,
livestock operation, urban farming. the possibilities are endless!

Farmers Growing Farmers is a new multi-year program that supports new
farmers who are pursuing sustainable, near-urban, direct-to-market farm
based enterprises. Through a wide range of services, FGF helps new
farmers plan, start-up and establish successful farm businesses.

"A business plan is an essential tool that can turn your dreams into
reality."

We are now accepting applications for our Farm Business Planning Course, based in Toronto and running for 8 sessions from October 25th - March 22nd. The course covers all aspects of developing a cohesive and useful farm business plan. The course utilizes presentations and tours from farmers as well as group work to develop and foster the creative grounded plans necessary to start agricultural businesses today.

Check out everdale.org and click on Farmers Growing Farmers to find out more.

The 2008 Community Garden Convening

October 9 - 12, 2008

Hosted by The Renaissance Project and the LSU AgCenter

Interested in working hands-on with community gardens in the New Orleans area?

The Community Garden Convening has got the opportunity for you! The New Orleans-based convening offers many locations where attendees will work to improve or construct parts of community garden sites. Join us for a weekend of service on almost 20 sites throughout Orleans Parish as well as New Orleans food and fun on October 9-12, 2008!

The event was originally slated to be held by the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA), but has now been supported by a partnership of The Renaisance Project and the LSU AgCenter. Though the sponsorship has changed, the commitment to urban agriculture in New Orleans has not.

If you are interested in joining together with members from the Garden S.H.A.R.E. community garden in Niagara Falls, please contact the TCGN at mail@tcgn.ca for more information.

posted September 02, 2008

Perth Dupont Community Garden Harvest Festival

Sun, Sept. 21, 5pm – 9pm

The Perth Dupont Community Garden Invites you to join in the celebration of another good year, and a good harvest.

We will have a potluck dinner, and there will on-going tours of the garden.

PLEASE COME AND JOIN US AS WE ENJOY THE SUCCESS OF A GOOD HARVEST. BRING YOUR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, YOUR SONGS & LAUGHTER, AND DON'T FORGET THE KIDS! WE WILL ALSO HAVE A BARBECUE FOR GRILLED VEGETABLES AND BURGERS.

Bring your recipes and garden seeds for trading. Feel free to bring your favorite dish for your family, or to share. Please do have a list of ingredients for people with allergies. We will only be using bio-degradable, and re-usable dishes, cups, and cutlery.

As a special feature, we have permission from Seeds of Diversity to have a display, and we will also have a bulb exchange, along with other things to transplant. We are inviting other community gardens, so we should get a wide variety of bulbs and plants. This year we have been working on the Great Canadian Garlic Collection, a project of Seeds of Diversity. So, that garlic will be on display, and available for exchange.

A NEW TENNIS COURT There is also a newly repaired tennis court next to the garden. All the tennis players are welcome to share in the feast! And feel free to bring your tennis equipment as well.

The Google map address is: 360 Symington Ave. Toronto
Please note: The entrance to the Garden is from Perth Ave. One street west of Symington, just north of Dupont St.

ColdFrames and Season Extension Techniques

Riverdale Meadow Community Garden

ColdFrames and Season Extension Techniques: building both simple wire frames and wooden ColdFrames, including a Garden Tour and winter seed planting.

Location: Riverdale Meadow Community Garden,

1 Danforth Avenue, at Broadview,

on the south meadow, back of the school.

Building wooden frames involves demonstrations using power tools. Bring your own cordless drill, if you have one, and work gloves. All materials will be supplied; and the Raised Beds and ColdFrames built will be used in Riverdale Meadow Community Garden. These workshops will teach you how to build your own frames using recycled materials. You will learn how create shelters to grow foods outdoors through the winter, using only the power of the sun.

Wear appropriately safe footwear; and dress for the weather, bringing sunscreen and/or insect repellents, as appropriate. As well, bring your own drinks and snacks - the garden is in a relatively remote location, some distance from physical amenities.

These workshops will go ahead rain or shine (unless there is an electrical storm over the meadow.)

Cost: $20- per participant, with a maximum of 5 individuals at each workshop.

Greenest City Apple Picking trip that is happening this Saturday!

Click on poster to enlarge it.

Hope this message finds you in good health and better spirits. Just wanted to send a notice for our Apple Picking trip on Saturday, Sept 20.

A school bus is booked (and paid for), so we're making a final push to have ALL the seats filled up. Because this will be a fun-filled, healthy and organic trip, and we absolutely cannot imagine going on this trip with any empty seats at all.

Pot luck Dinner at the Perth Dupont Community Garden

PERTH DUPONT COMMUNITY GARDEN INVITES YOU TO THEIR POTLUCK DINNER

AUGUST 22, 2008

starting at 6:00pm, there will on-going tours of the garden.

PLEASE COME AND JOIN US AS WE ENJOY THE WARM SUMMER EVENING. BRING YOUR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, YOUR SONGS & LAUGHTER, AND DON'T FORGET THE KIDS! WE WILL ALSO HAVE A BARBECUE FOR GRILLED VEGETABLES AND BURGERS & HOT-DOGS.

Feel free to bring your favorite dish for your family or to share. Please have a list of ingredients for people with allergies. We will only be using bio-degradable, and re-usable dishes, cups, and cutlery.

Directions :We are one block west of Symington Ave, and north of Dupont - The entrance to the garden is from Perth Ave.

A NEW TENNIS COURT

There is also a new tennis court next to the garden.
All the tennis players are welcome to share in the feast!

To celebrate the hard work and collaboration of the volunteers and partners of San Lorenzo Community Garden

* It's a potluck, so please bring a dish for 2-4 people Please bring your own plate and cutlery)

* 50/50 draw

* Pinata draw

* Latin music and performers

* Dancing

posted July 23, 2008

Potluck Wednesday August 6 2008

At the Emmett Ave Community Gardens

:

From 6-8 pm

Please Join the Weston/ Mount Dennis community and TCGN for a potluck and tour of the Emmett Ave Community Gardens on Wednesday August 6th from 6-8pm.

This garden was established in the fall of 2006, and the second full growing season is now in full swing.

Emmett Avenue Community Garden is in the NW quadrant of Jane and Eglinton. Turn north on Emmett off of Eglinton, and follow the road around until you see the playground opposite a parking lot. The garden is across the park near the slope covered with trees.

** please try to bring HALAL meat, if at all possible to this site**

Food forTalk

:

OUR ROLE IN THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD CHAIN

The price of rice has risen by as much as 70% over the last year…

Why? And what does that mean for Canada and the rest of the world?
Rising populations, trade and climate change have sent food prices
soaring across the globe. These factors have recently prompted the
United Nations to declare a world food "crisis". Join us for a public
dialogue bringing together youth, senior and local community members
with representatives from business, government and NGOs. Hear from
expert guest speakers and have your say.

TUESDAY JULY 29, 2008

Great Hall, University of Toronto

7 Hart House Circle, Toronto

9:00 am - 4:30 pm

(Registration begins at 9:00)

Lunch will be provided

This dialogue is free, but registration is required.

Register by e-mailing: jameshaga@ewb.ca, and include your full name, phone number and dietary restrictions

Potluck Thursday July 24 2008

At Fort York.

from 6-8pm

The potlucks that will be held in and for community gardens this summer, across the city will serve the purpose of creating a social space for gardeners in different locations.

Fort York is on the north side of Historic Fort York - you can see it looking west off the Bathurst St. Bridge at Front St.

This is the best way to find the garden. Walk on the pedestrian bridge toward the Fort and hang to the right (north) of the wall to get to the garden.

The washrooms may not be available.

Controlling Pests and Weeds Naturally - Free Workshop

Wednesday July 16th

Click on poster to enlarge it.

Free Gardening Workshop: Controlling Pests and Weeds Naturally

Wednesday July 16th 6:00-8:00pm

Earlscourt Park

Learn how to prevent and manage pests and weeds using organic methods.

Rain date: Thursday July 17th 6:00-8:00

Earlscourt Park is located between St. Clair and Davenport Rd. at Lansdowne. We’re on the east side of the track north of the basketball courts.

Directions: Our community garden is located on the East side of the Earlscourt Park, at Lansdowne and St. Clair. Just walk half-way down the south part of the lane way and you will see our garden in the park.

Create Living Environments that are simple, natural, self sufficient and sustainable.

What is Permaculture?

The Fundamentals of Permaculture Design course offers practical training in permaculture design principles & techniques. It enables the participants to use the principles in their life to design sustainable and ecological environments that can provide for their basic needs for food, shelter, energy, fulfilling employment and supportive community. It provides a basic grounding in Permaculture as a whole systems approach to ecological living so that participants are empowered to apply these skills where they live, on their own properties and within their communities.

Course Topics include Ethics and Co-operation for Ecological Design, Ecosystem Dynamics and Permaculture Principles, Energy Analysis for Landscape Design and many more.

There will be a balance between classroom time, hands-on experiential learning and personal empowerment work. This training will be useful for people with varying levels of experience - from backyard gardeners to design professionals.

Big On Bloor!

GET BIG ON BLOOR!

On Saturday June 21, The BIG Festival is coming to Bloor Street,

closed at noon from Christie St to Lansdowne Ave.

The BIG Festival celebrates local business, community, arts and culture

with a unique street fair featuring hundreds of events, activities and exhibitions.

The theme of the inaugural The BIG Festival is what we as individuals, as members of community and as citizens bring to the table. The theme is inspired by a small story about one of the many Bloor Street communities who started a Sunday night potluck picnic in a park deemed to dangerous to visit during the day. The theme of what we bring to the table is expressed in one BIG activity that requires the participation of the entire Bloor Street community and Toronto at large:

throwing the biggest dinner party in Toronto and in the world!

The public is invited to take a seat at the BIG table to break bread under the stars with the community while breaking a world record. The table, spanning over two kilometers, is located in the middle of Bloor Street from Christie to Lansdowne. Hosted by the community and local restaurants on the eve of the summer solstice, you are invited to pull up a chair at the BIG table to participate in the first annual The BIG Supper.

Intro to Container Gardening

The Stop Community Food Centre is located at 1884 Davenport Rd on the corner of Davenport and Symington, two stop lights west of Lansdowne Ave.

TTC: Take the 168 Symington Bus from Dundas West Station.

posted May 09, 2008

FREE WORKSHOP Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

Spring is here! Check out these free workshops

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

Learn how to grow vegetables using low-cost, organic methods

Thursday May 8th (7:30 to 9:00)

Contact Kristin at The Stop Commynity Food Centre for more info

kristin@thestop.org -- (416)652-7867 ext. (241)

The Stop Community Food Centre is located at 1884 Davenport Rd. on the corner of Davenport and Symington, two blocks west of Lansdowne Ave.

TTC: Take the 168 Symington Bus from Dundas West Station

posted April 30, 2008

David Suzuki in Toronto

The David Suzuki Foundation is launching its insect pollinator awareness campaign with "Wild Things with Wings" in Toronto, on Sat. May 3rd, in partnership with three other leading non-profit organizations: Evergreen, Seeds of Diversity Canada, and FoodShare.

Native insect pollinators are important for the preservation of biodiversity and key for the propagation of many plant species. Insects are also an important link in our food system, since many food plants depend on insects to produce fruit. Wild bees and butterflies, like many other wild animals, suffer from urban development, pesticides used in industrial agriculture, global climate change, and the disappearance of wild spaces. In other words, imagine us doing their work with Q-tips and small brushes at hand. Seems like an awful lot of work!

Meet Canada's best known environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki and guests at two one of a kind events that will both entertain and inform:

Danforth Music Hall fundraiser, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. - this is the opportunity of a lifetime to be entertained by two of Canada's best known CBC personalities: Dr. David Suzuki and Bob McDonald, who will be joined by gardening diva Marjorie Harris, and bee expert Laurence Packer. The special musical guest for the evening will be Jason Collett.

Visit David Suzuki web site for details, most up to date information, and links to other pollinator nature conservancy programs.

Plant Sale Community Garden

Click on the poster to enlarge it.

Fundraising Fair: Thursday, January 17, 2008, from 9:30 to 12:30

You are invited to attend the amazing…..

Fundraising Information Expo

At FoodShare Toronto, 90 Croatia St. Toronto
(Dufferin and Bloor)

Features include

The “Wall of Ideas” where you can read about “ideas that work” for your colleagues…..and enter the contest to add your own ideas
The opportunity to meet local funders who will discuss their criteria for funding with you
Representatives from a variety of fundraising businesses displaying their wares and outlining their program
Representatives from Student Nutrition Programs displaying their successful projects
And……
Ongoing fundraising information sessions featuring the best of fundraising events, make and sell, raffles, etc…
And, of course, a healthy snack…..

Why are more farmers and consumers choosing to go organic? Join us as we share how organic is making a difference in how we eat and live. You will be stirred with inspiring stories, the difficult challenges and the proven visions that are bringing organic food from the field to the table, creating new careers, markets and a more livable planet. Is there a role for you?

Keynote speaker: Helge Hellberg, Executive Director of Marin Organic
Marin Organic is an award winning, innovative organization of local farmers that is realizing a vision for the first all organic county in North America. They have inspired schools, businesses and governments to take a stand for an alternative way of doing business and in doing so show us what a sustainable food system looks like.

Yes, it's almost that time of year to begin thinking about what you will plant and where you will get your seeds. Well, hang on to that 2nd part because you can buy them (or trade for some) at Seedy Saturday 2008 on March 15th.

Where? Scadding Court Community Centre of course -- 707 Dundas St. West, south-east corner of Bathurst and Dundas. Doors open at 10am and it continues on till 3pm, plenty of time to get seeds, attend a seminar or workshop, check out the latest organic gardening products and groups. And have some yummy food too.

Seed exchange & vendors, displays, and information from environmental groups; great food from local vendors, raffle, workshops, and hands-on demonstrations.

See Seedy Saturday below for details and photos from last year's fun event.

Announcing Black. Brown. Green.

Black. Brown. Green. is a web portal of resources and information that integrate people of color and our needs and issues with the movement
for environmental sustainability. It's also a place for people of color to learn about green living and develop an understanding of how issues of social justice and environmental sustainability are interlinked not only in the political world, but in our daily lives.

The BBG philosophy combines the principles of permaculture and non-violent social change into a clear blueprint for how to create a world that sustains us all.

BBG's living section gives you practical day-to-day ways to live a green life. Many people of color choose to live in an environmentally sustainable way because we know first-hand the damage that oppression can do to any being, including our planet. You can share your ideas, tips with a community of people who are committed to living a Black.Brown. Green. lifestyle.

BBG provides a cache of articles and videos that address the interconnectedness of green and social issues. Learn how deeply entwined we are with the fate of the planet. Learn why issues remain segregated even after we've fought long and hard for equality. Educate yourself and others about the history and current situations of people of color around the world. Debate hot topics. Expand the definitions of green.

Black. Brown. Green. is solution oriented. We hope to spread the understanding that all things are connected and that we are stronger when working together than we are when we are tearing each other apart.

PLEASE VISIT http://blackbrowngreen.com for more information, and to submit your favorite articles, people and resources that link environmental sustainability with social justice. Black. Brown. Green. is here to serve and connect you.

''Black. Brown. Green. is founded by artist and speaker damali ayo and
headed by Matt Nelson, writer, organizer, teacher, and co-founder of
the Freedom Now! Collaborative.''

Getting Dirty for New Orleans

Join the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) in New Orleans this year for ACGA's Annual Conference, October 9-12, 2008.

In addition to educational workshops, lectures, and keynote speakers, this year's Conference is a working conference. We are going to help New Orleans rebuild their community gardens!

In Algiers, Metairie, the 7th and 9th Wards, and other parts of New Orleans, we'll be working in school, neighborhood, medicinal, therapy, and senior gardens. And, we'll be sharing time with our New Orleans partners who have hoed the hard row. In the end, all of us will reap lots of stories and memories that will last a lifetime!

Come to New Orleans this year and experience a new kind of ACGA Conference that you'll not forget: healing and rebirth, and you get to be a special part of it all!

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Community Events 2007

The Canadian Organic Growers had a booth at the Toronto Fall Home Show, 13 to 16 September 2007, Automotive Building, C.N.E.
Free seminars on a range of organic gardening topics for adults and kids were offered by the Canadian Organic Growers and their guests.
Within their booth Kyla Dixon-Muir, of Riverdale Meadow Community Garden, presented season-extension techniques and displayed her ColdFrames.
Kyla was selling her revised and updated text, Growing To Eat through all four seasons: Cloches, ColdFrames, Hot Beds, Raised Rows and more.
See www.riverdalemeadow.ca for more information, and photographs of her innovative variety of no-cost and low-cost ColdFrames in action over an entire winter.
The Toronto Community Garden Network was also represented with new brochures from the TCGN's Outreach Committee.

photo by Roberta Stimac

Foodies Celebrate Local Food in City Park

On Saturday September 22, 2007 the Withrow Park Farmers’ Market hosted its first Wine and Cheese tasting event, and its second annual Urban Heirloom Harvest Fest. The market started at 9 a.m. and featured various activities and events throughout the day.

Wine & Cheese: This was a budget friendly feast-of-fields-plus-type event that celebrated the rural-urban food link by highlighting Ontario artisan cheeses, local organic wine, and the working hands bringing food to our tables. The Withrow Park Farmers’ Market is happy to announce the participation of Slow Food Toronto, and foodie and cheese aficionado Julia Rogers, whose knowledge of artisan cheese and local wine parings will broaden the palette of even the most sophisticated gourmet, while educating the taste buds of adventurous neophytes.

The annual Urban Heirloom Harvest Fest brings together members and friends of the Toronto Community Garden Network, and features a bounty reaped from community gardens across the city, to create a fund-raising lunch for a TCGN project. Community and non-profit organizations who are passionate about food and green spaces share their passions and gardening know-how with the public.

To get the most up to date information, and to see images of events over 2007, visit their web site: http://www.withrowpark.ca.

The Withrow Park Farmers’ Market is located at the north end of the park, one block south of Danforth Avenue, between Logan and Carlaw, and offers organic produce by local farmers, and other edibles, every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., until October 27, 2007.

Seedy Saturday

Hosted by Scadding Court Community Centre, this 2007 event was one of many Seedy Saturday's held across Canada.

You can also search the internet for a history of the grassroots event, and for details of similar fairs in other cities.

Join us in March 2008 for a fun-filled day in Toronto!

A table in the trade room:Community Gardeners and a local business share a space to show how the power of the sun can be used to both grow foods outdoors even during the winter, and how to cook foods using solar power, as demonstrated here by Stephen Kerr of Sun Charged.

photo by Zora Ignjatovic

Class is in session:Gardeners enjoy one of may free seminars offered in several rooms throughout the day .